Qalandiya, Mon 23.5.11, Afternoon
14:30, Qalandiya: At this hour the CP looked quite abandoned – there were no lines in either of the two active passageways and very few "clients" could be seen in the DCO waiting shed. During the rest of the afternoon, the flow of people through the CP increased somewhat, but no long lines formed and the entry carousel to the pedestrian CP remained open. A similar situation was observed in the transit CP for bus passengers where lines remained quite short all afternoon. On the other hand, the line of vehicles from Ramallah was quite long, backed up about 500 m. on the road. Although the line was long it appeared to make steady but slow progress.
Signs of last week's battles were still evident in the parking lot – the sidewalk along the fence was covered with a litter of stones that had been thrown.
16:15: A man entered Passageway 5, on his way to the DCO offices. We were sure that he would not be allowed through at this late hour, but he shouted to attract attention of the soldiers on duty and they immediately opened the carousel.
I left Qalandiya at 4:30 PM and returned to Jerusalem via Lil/Jabba and Hizmeh CPs. Traffic was flow
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
Tamar FleishmanNov-30-2025Qalandiya: Puddles and dirt after the rain
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